Advancements in communication technologies have permitted the development and deployment of new types of communication systems and services. Development and deployment of public data networks that form the Internet, for instance, have provided, in recent years, a publicly-accessible, communication network of global scope.
While a wide range of communication services are able to be carried out by way of the Internet, perhaps the most widely performed communication services carried out by way of the Internet are that of retrieval services.
In a typical data retrieval service, data is requested by a first communication device connected to the data network. And, the requested data, stored at a second device connected to the network is retrieved therefrom and provided to the requesting device or its proxy. Computer servers are amongst the communication devices at which large amounts of data is regularly stored and whose data is accessed and provided to a requesting device in a typical content-retrieval, communication service.
Data retrieval services are also provided in private networks. A private network is created, for instance, for a business, governmental, or other entity in which access to the network is limited, viz., not accessible by the general public. In such private networks, also, computer servers are typically utilized at which to store large amounts of data. The computer server is connected to the private network. Other communication devices, also connected to the private network, retrieve, or otherwise are provided with, data sourced at the computer server.
A computer server typically is not in a production-ready state upon its manufacture. That is to say, the hardware of the computer server, once manufactured and assembled, must be provisioned with an operating system and other software. The operating system is installed with software packages and specified patches.
While various mechanisms are available by which to facilitate the provisioning of a computer server, such mechanisms generally rely upon the availability of an Ethernet connection by which to connect the computer server to a source of the software that is to be provided to the server to provision the server with the operating system and other software. An exemplary such mechanism, an OPSWARE™ server automation system (SAS) facilitates automatic management of WINDOWS™, LINUX™, and UNIX™ server and application software. OPSWARE™ includes the capability of operating system provisioning (OSP). Operation of OPSWARE™ permits an assembled computer server in a “bare metal” state to be provisioned into a “production-ready” state through the installation of an appropriate operating system with specified patches and software packages. SOLARIS™-based, LINUX™-based, and WINDOWS™-based computer servers are all exemplary of computer-server types that are able to be provisioned through operation of the OPSWARE™ operating system provisioning.
The conventional reliance upon the Ethernet connection, however, limits the locations available at which to provision the computer server. Security constraints also sometimes limit the location at which a computer server is permitted to be provisioned. That is to say, security requirements sometimes prohibit a computer server from being connected to a production network, private or public, until the computer server has been built out to an acceptable security level, typically requiring the computer server to have a completed, base operating system installed, as well as installation of associated service packs and security patches and, e.g., third-party, security products, such as anti-virus software.
In one conventional manner by which to provision a computer server, the computer server is delivered to a physically-isolated build area that contains a wired, Ethernet infrastructure. The computer server is provisioned and then transported to a production location. The computer server, however, requires multiple transport actions, that is to say, transport to the isolated build area and subsequent transport to the production location.
Alternately, if the production location at which the computer server is permanently to be positioned contains structure of a wired build network, i.e., forms an isolated build area having a wired-Ethernet infrastructure, the multiple transport of the computer server to provision the server with the operating software is obviated. However, costs associated with the installation of a separate, wired build network are sometimes prohibitively expensive and, oftentimes, is not a practical solution.
What is needed, is an improved manner by which to provide for the provisioning of a computer server, or other computer device.
It is in light of this background information that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.